BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since early Monday has risen to 294, with 1,023 people injured, Lebanon's authorities said Saturday.
In a statement, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Public Health said the casualties were recorded between Monday and Saturday afternoon, as Israeli airstrikes and shelling continue to hit several areas across southern and eastern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said in separate statements that its members carried out several retaliatory attacks against Israeli forces.
Separately, Lebanon's Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh condemned Israeli strikes that caused material damage to the Al-Bass archaeological site in the city of Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA).
According to the NNA, Salameh said Lebanon's archaeological sites contain no military or security presence and are managed directly by the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities, noting that he has contacted UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, requesting international intervention to help protect Lebanon's cultural heritage during the ongoing conflict.
Amid the escalating tensions, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received a phone call from Spain's King Felipe VI, who affirmed Spain's support for Lebanon and expressed the solidarity of the Spanish people with the Lebanese people. Aoun also received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron as part of ongoing consultations between the two leaders to follow developments and contacts aimed at halting the military escalation, the NNA reported.
On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz appealed to Aoun and demanded the disarmament of Hezbollah, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Katz warned that "we will not allow harm to our communities and soldiers, and if things stand against each other, the ones who will pay the full price are the Lebanese government, and all of Lebanon."
He emphasized that Israel has no territorial claims toward Lebanon, "but we will not be willing for the Lebanese territory to now resume everything that has been going on for many years, of firing at Israel."
The escalation follows rocket fire toward Israel launched from Lebanon early Monday by Hezbollah, the group's first such attack since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.
Israel has since launched what it called an "offensive military campaign" against Hezbollah, combining heavy airstrikes with ground incursions along the border and evacuation warnings for areas south of the Litani River and Beirut's southern suburbs.
Also on Saturday, the Israeli army said in a statement that its air force struck and dismantled 16 aircraft belonging to Quds Force, an elite unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, at the Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran overnight.
It claimed that the airport served as a central hub for arming and funding Iran's proxies in the Middle East, and that the targeted aircraft were used for transferring weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon. ■
